Happy Halloween everyone! Welcome back to my ooky spooky haunted blog full of frightening and bewildering knowledge! If you are a fan and read my weird blogs you might remember that I had a whole blog dedicated to cats, so buckle up because we are talking felines once again today!
Black cats have long been associated with Halloween, but how did this association come about? In Greece, cats in general were associated with Hecate, goddess of magic, sorcery, the moon, and witchcraft. In the 13th Century, Pope Gregory IX declared that black cats were aligned with Satan to quell the rise of Luciferians in Germany, so a double whammy for black cats right there. With the rise of Christianity, cats were more than ever aligned with Pagans, and affection between human and animal was now seen as devilish. There does not appear to be any reason as to why black cats were under fire, but nevertheless the poor things can’t catch a break and because they were seen as Pagan’s familiars, they were in cahoots with witches and the devil. Regardless, this is the reason behind the black cat crossing your path superstition. A black cat crossing your path may be sent on a mission by a witch or the devil himself. These connotations of black cats being aligned with Satan is the main reason for Halloween associations, but really any color cat could have been chosen as a scapegoat.
Some pop culture black cats include Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Although depicted as a sassy black cat now, his first appearance in Mad House Comics #22 portrayed him as an orange cat that could not speak. With Hocus Pocus 2 coming to the big screen, we can’t forget about Thackery Binx who was transformed into an immortal black cat by the Sanderson Sisters. It isn’t just pop culture where black cats reign supreme, these little furballs can also be found in fine arts as well. Toulouse Lautrec’s work titled “Le Chat Noir” depicts a black cat and was created for an entertainment company, thought to be the first cabaret. As mentioned in the previous cat blog, artist Vanessa Stockard often paints her own kitty creation, a black cat named Kevin the Kitten, in the most energetic fashions and inserts him into classical paintings.
So, this Halloween, and for the rest of eternity, give black cats some love and remember, they aren’t in line with the devil so don’t try to avoid them. Black cats need love and homes too!
